There are so many ailments that are the result of neural miscommunications.  Where the brain and the rest of the nervous system fail to send and receive messages properly.  Which is why so many researchers are searching for the holy grail: the brain-computer interface that will overcome such deficiencies.  And, while that holy grail has not yet been found- we now believe it does exist.  A switch- one that transcends electronics and biology.

Up to now, our processes have required the use of conventional electronics- i.e., electrons (negatively charged particles).  That’s the real problem- our body is based upon protons- the ions of sodium, potassium, and calcium.  We need to control the flow of these positively charged particles in and out of the cell.  Which means we need to use transistors- but in this case, we need them to control positive charges and be biocompatible.

And, now, maybe we have something.  Dr. Marco Rolandi headed up a research project at the University of Washington.  (Other members of the project were Drs.  Zhong, Deng, Kapetanovic, and Anatram, with Dr. Roudsari now at the University of Waterloo.)  Reporting on their results in Nature Communications, Rolandi described a sugar molecule (maleic chitosan) which demonstrated some unique properties.  When maintained in a humid environment, hydrogen bonds that formed within the fibers, and protons could move up and down the fibers.  Apply an electric field (externally), and they found that the voltage induced the protons to hop along the fibers.  (Actually, it was the exchange of hydrogen bonds, rather than electric flow that was noticed.)  And, since chitosan is pliable and soft, it could easily replace the metal based electronic implants (brain stimulators) with less trauma and scarring.

Note that this is not really “transistor” quality.  Instead of having an “off” switch that diminishes electron flow by 10,000 or so- the proton flows are only decade levels of interaction (since only a few nanofibers are opened or closed with the applied voltage).  But, in the late 40’s, the first transistor (Bell Laboratories) was a centimeter in height; now a microchip (which is teeny all by itself) contains 4 billion transistors.

Step by step…

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